Spanning nearly half a century, The Old Wives Tale is epic in scale and scope, tracing as it does the effects of time on two sisters and their surroundings. The novel is a domestic story told with tenderness, and is concerned not with heroic statesmen or soldiers, but with small details of daily life in a way which demonstrates Bennett's great debt to french realist writers. The action is concentrated mainly within the provincial town of Bursley, a startling contrast to Paris where Sophia and Gerald elope.

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Listener Opinions

Steve Shilstone | 2/13/2014

" Quite a good end of the Victorian Era page turner. Arnold invented a nice pair of sisters to care about. "

Werebot | 2/12/2014

" I wasn't expecting to like this story of two old widows, but I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. Well-paced and realistic, it's 500+ pages seemed much shorter. This is a very well-crafted novel. "

Ellen | 2/6/2014

" This novel about two sisters whose lives take very different paths (one remains in their small town in England, while the other ends up running a hotel in Paris) is both funny and sad. Bennett's depiction of what goes on inside the heads of teenage girls is so accurate it's eerie--particularly considering he was a nineteenth-century man. "

Danoota | 2/3/2014

" I loved this book. The story of two sisters who lived very different, estranged lives. One runs away to Paris, the other stays home and does "the right thing' "

timo0o | 1/31/2014

" it's quite long, yet pleasant to read :) "

Erica | 1/24/2014

" A humane portrayal of two women throughout their lives and the changes that come to their community from the 1860s into the 20th century. I feel like Sophia and Constance are women I could have known/do know, especially since Bennett is adept at capturing inter-generational conflict and misunderstanding in the ways in which Constance's younger relations love her and yet are frustrated/bored by her. Bennett even anthropomorphizes the dogs that Sophia and Constance own throughout their lives, narrating the dog's inner monologues and, finally, humanizing them too. Poor Fossette survives them all, but like all of us, age tires her and yet she gets up and eats again anyway. "

Sarah | 1/16/2014

" I was forced to read this book for a college course years ago and it is among my favorites now! Beautifully written, delicious characters. Brilliant! "

" Solid book. Also from "my list," I had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. "

Kristin | 11/21/2013

" Not a bad read, considering all that I'd heard about Bennett previous to opening this book was that he and Virginia Woolf had a serious rivalry. The realism in the book can get to be a bit much (death scenes tend to be rather short, especially at the opening.). "

Jeanine | 11/13/2013

" Surprised to find myself hooked on this soap opera from back in the day. "

Julie | 5/3/2013

" Possibly the only novel that I enjoyed from my 19th century British Literature class in college... "

Stacy Lewis | 3/12/2013

" Read this because it was on Modern Library's Top 100. Nicely told story of 2 sisters' lives set in second half of 1800's. "

Barbara Backus | 12/30/2012

" Arnold Bennett has filled his 1908 novel with great characters who inhabit the worlds of sisters Constance and Sophia. Th novel spans from their lives from 16 and 17 to old age. I first read this book fifty years ago and I am glad to say I enjoyed it even more now. "

Cecil James | 11/24/2012

" This is an excellent smooth flowing historical novel. The characters are well delineated. I enjoyed it tremendously. "

Rashid | 6/13/2012

" This is a very intersting book..about two sisters. Beautifully written by one of my favorite english author. "

Laurie Robinson | 6/2/2012

" Slow to start, but overall good read. "

Andrew | 3/17/2012

" Very enjoyable, an interesting plot of intersecting lives of two sisters who forged different destinies. Seemed quite modern, or ahead of its time, I would've assumed it was decades newer than it is. "

Bruce | 9/1/2011

" What a pleasant surprise to find this gem from the early part of the 20th Century. "

Steve | 4/8/2011

" Quite a good end of the Victorian Era page turner. Arnold invented a nice pair of sisters to care about.
"

Laurie | 3/12/2011

" Slow to start, but overall good read.
"

timo0o | 2/21/2011

" it's quite long, yet pleasant to read :)
"

Rashid | 1/15/2011

" This is a very intersting book..about two sisters. Beautifully written by one of my favorite english author.
"

Carol | 9/16/2010

" this is a period piece. I loved the old English and the dipiction of life for women in Victorian England. I'm glad I read it on Kindle because I used the dictionary at least once per page to define archiac words.
"

Kristin | 9/9/2010

" Not a bad read, considering all that I'd heard about Bennett previous to opening this book was that he and Virginia Woolf had a serious rivalry. The realism in the book can get to be a bit much (death scenes tend to be rather short, especially at the opening.).
"

Emily | 9/2/2010

" very engaging, interesting story about two sisters on divergent paths in life. takes place during the industrial revolution in suburban england.
"

Stacy | 9/2/2010

" Read this because it was on Modern Library's Top 100. Nicely told story of 2 sisters' lives set in second half of 1800's.
"

Bruce | 8/21/2010

" What a pleasant surprise to find this gem from the early part of the 20th Century.
"

Jw | 7/5/2010

" Warmly humanistic, beautifully written, and fascinating throughout. If you like 19th-century novels, this is definitely a winner.
"

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